1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a hard disk drive, and more particularly to an actuator latching device of a hard disk drive.
2. Related Art
Computer systems are information handling systems that are utilized by many individuals and businesses today. A conventional computer system can be defined as a microcomputer that includes a central processing unit (CPU), a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a display monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a floppy disk drive, a compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) drive, a modem, a hard disk storage device, and a printer. Typically, a computer system's main board, which is a printed circuit board known as a motherboard, is used to electrically connect these components together.
The hard disk storage device can also be referred to as a hard disk drive containing a hard disk, wherein the hard disk is the actual storage medium. A platter is another term for a hard disk. The hard disk drive is an auxiliary memory unit of the computer system. The hard disk drive contains components enabling data to be received from the associated computer system and then written to the hard disk, and also enabling data to be read from the hard disk and then transmitted to the associated computer system. The hard disk drive includes a magnetic read/write head which flies above the surface of the hard disk while the hard disk is rotating.
The hard disk has a plurality of concentric tracks for storing data. Each track has a plurality of sectors. Some hard disk drives contain several hard disks, each hard disk being horizontally mounted on one shared vertical spindle-axis, so that the hard disks form a stack of hard disks. When a disk drive has a plurality of hard disks, with each disk having its own read/write head, every read/write head is aligned on a separate track of its associated hard disk. A head actuator locks all the heads together so that all heads are at the same position from the center of the disk along a given radius. The vertical stack of tracks formed by such an arrangement is referred to as a cylinder. The number of cylinders in a hard disk drive is the same as the number of tracks on a hard disk of that hard disk drive.
Primary functions of the hard disk drive include receiving data from the associated computer system, writing the data onto the hard disk without loss of the data, and then reading and transmitting the data to the computer system when necessary. Therefore, a manufacturer of the hard disk drive not only makes an effort to maximize data recording capacity, but also looks for various means to prevent data loss.
When a hard disk drive pauses or power is turned off, an actuator moves the magnetic read/write head to a parking zone defined at a predetermined position of the hard disk, in order to protect data recorded on the disk from damage caused by contact between the magnetic head and a data surface of the disk.
Exemplars of recent efforts in the art include U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,325 for Magnetic Disk Rive Having an Improved Outer Stopper Mechanism issued to Matsumoto, U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,119 for Rotating Crash Stop Assembly for Hard Disk Drives issued to Williams et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,516 for Deflectable Crash Stop in Acutuator Arm Assembly Overmold issued to Phillips et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,436 for Disk Drive with Shock-resistant Rotary Actuator issued to Albrecht, U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,770 for Shock Bumper for a Head/disk Suspension issued to Alt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,290 for One Piece Limit Stop for Disc Drive issued to Daniel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,608 for Disk Drive Crash Stop issued to Strickler et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,310 for Disk Drive Device with Unified Actuator Assembly issued to Ohkjita et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,371 for Disk Drive Crash Stop/actuator Latch issued to Pollard et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,206 for Crash Stop for Rotary Disk Drive Actuator issued to Phillips et al.
While these recent efforts provide advantages, I note that they fail to adequately address how an actuator can be efficiently latched in a hard disk drive, without an excessive loss of the hard disk's memory capacity. In addition, these recent efforts fail to provide a simple actuator latching device able to lower manufacturing costs.